Page 54 of Talk to Me

Theo laughed.

“I didn’t even know what to say to that,” I said. “I think I mumbled, like, it was a Halloween costume video.”

“I’m sorry,” Theo said. “I didn’t really think it through when I begged you to do the video. It’s been so long since one of my videos went viral—thanks to the whole Ben situation—that I forgot how wild people can be.”

“What should I tell people?” I turned in my chair to face him. “When they say weird shit like that? I don’t want to ruin what you’re rebuilding, but…it’s a lot.”

Theo shrugged. “You can say whatever you want. You’re the Communications major.”

I laughed. “I haven’t really taken a ‘So People Think You’re Famous Now’ class or anything. I’m not really sure what I can say that won’t come off as rude or dismissive.”

Theo examined me for a moment.

“What do you want to say?” he asked. “When people tell you not to break my heart? What’s your instinct there?”

I sighed. “I just want to laugh with them and say, ‘yeah, we just thought it would be a cool costume idea for friends and Theo thought you guys would enjoy the video.’ But I’m not sure if that will work.”

“I mean,” Theo looked down at his feet, “if that’s what you want to say, there’s no reason you shouldn’t.”

“True,” I said. “I’m just worried that some of your followers are too deranged to accept that answer. Like, they want everything to be more than it is. It can’t just be a fun video that we made for our amusement and their viewing pleasure.”

He grinned, but he didn’t look up.

“Anyway,” I said, waving my hand through the air as if clearing a stench, “I’ll get over it. So will they. Just post some cool animal videos soon. Or something.”

Chuckling, Theo sat back, propping himself up with his hands behind him on the bed.

“Getting ready for Thanksgiving with the family is more important anyway,” I said. “I haven’t even packed yet.”

Theo pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on the bed and folded his hands in his lap as I stood from my desk and sauntered over to the closet. Inside, I located my empty duffel bag and yanked it out, shaking it to fluff it out. Considering all of the clothes in my closet, I wondered if I really needed to take much for a few days with my family over Thanksgiving. There were still plenty of clothes in my closet at home, and most of what I wore around campus was sweats, basketball shorts, t-shirts, and sweaters.

Being back home, on the farm, I’d probably need to bust out the jeans and work shirts I wore when helping Dad around the place. For the actual day of Thanksgiving, Mom would expect us all to dress nicer than usual, so something in my closet at home was probably best. A few things to knockaround in when laying around the house and a couple pairs of pajamas, underwear, and socks would probably get me through the visit. Those things, along with my toiletries would be all that I would need.

“It shouldn’t take long,” I said, examining my closet. “I don’t need much.”

“You’re only going three hours away,” Theo said. “Worst case scenario, you have to drive back here for something you forgot.”

“True,” I chuckled. “It’s not like I’m going to be across the world. And if I forget something, I can go to the Dollar General or just do without for a few days.”

I walked over and set my duffel bag on the bed next to Theo and propped it open, making it ready to accept the few clothes I decided to pack.

“Have you packed yet?” I asked Theo. “When do you leave?”

He shrugged. “I’m sticking around here for Thanksgiving. The dining hall is serving open-face turkey sandwiches for Thanksgiving, so that should be yummy.”

Laughing, I grabbed a few t-shirts and basketball shorts from my closet.

“You’re not going home?” I asked, frowning at him as I stuffed the clothes in my bag.

“Nah,” he said, sitting back on my bed. “Mom and Dad are going to be with my sister’s family. I don’t want to go there, and if they won’t be home, there’s no point in going there, either.”

“You don’t want to hang out with your sister’s family?”

“She has two kids who are nightmares,” he said. “And my brother-in-law’s family are all Republicans, so…”

I cringed.

“But New York is kind of cool,” I shrugged. “See the city and—”